FLIGHTS HAVE started arriving back at Bangkok's main airport after a week of occupation by anti-government protesters, putting the country on the long road back to normality after a court removed Thailand's prime minister, writes Clifford Coonanin Bangkok
Truckloads of cheering members of the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) left the Suvarnabhumi international airport and the domestic Don Muang terminal after a week in which they cut off the capital's main access to the outside world, leaving hundreds of thousands of tourists stranded.
A Thai Airways International aircraft from Phuket with 307 passengers on board touched down at 14:10local time, the first passenger flight to land since protesters stormed the airport on November 25th.
Hundreds of Irish have also been stranded in Bangkok by the unrest, but they appeared to be finding their way out yesterday as normal service was resumed, albeit slowly.
"There are still massive delays and frustration, but things are moving," said Eoin Duggan, first secretary from the Irish Embassy to Thailand, which is accredited from the mission of ambassador Eugene Hutchinson in Malaysia.
"There are a lot fewer calls and people are getting out," said Mr Duggan.
The departure of the protesters from the airports, and from key government offices around the city, frees up the city and removes some of the initial pressure, but does not resolve the broader crisis in Thailand, which is now without effective leadership and mired in a political impasse that could yet see intervention by the army or even possible civil war.
There were angry scenes around the city as government supporters wearing red T-shirts clashed with police, expressing their frustration at the constitutional court ruling. The decision brought down the government by disbanding the three top ruling coalition parties, finding them guilty of buying votes in last year's election. It also banned the prime minister, Somchai Wongsawat, and other top leaders from politics for five years.
The ruling marked a victory for the PAD, whose members besieged government offices in Bangkok for three months, and they warned they would act again if they felt the situation was working against them. The opposition accused Mr Somchai of being a puppet of Thaksin Shinawatra, his brother-in-law and a former prime minister who was ousted in a 2006 coup. The PAD rejected calls for fresh elections, saying it wants a new political system that reduces the electoral influence of poor farmers, who comprise Mr Thaksin's political base.
Deputy prime minister Chaowarat Chandeerakul has been endorsed as the caretaker prime minister, and it looks very likely that any new government will be very similar to the old one, minus some of the senior leadership, and further protests cannot be ruled out.
Mr Thaksin was ousted by a September 2006 military coup, but the alliance alleges that governments voted into office since then have been proxies for the exiled former leader.
Seeking ways to heal a fundamental rift in Thai society, citizens will now be closely reading a speech by Thailand's revered King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who turns 81 tomorrow, and gives his traditional birthday eve speech later today.
The occupation has done serious damage to Thailand's crucial tourism industry, although airline officials opened Suvarnabhumi airport sooner than planned because protesters made a point of causing little disruption, leaving quickly and cleaning up efficiently after themselves. International airlines including Lufthansa and Cathay Pacific say they'll restart flights to Bangkok once Thai aviation officials give the all-clear.